In the light of various allegations and criticisms levelled against Mogale City Local Municipality (MCLM) and the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport (GDRT) in regards to the controversial relocation of squatters to a property in Muldersdrift, the two entities answered a number of questions from the News.

Also read: Plot 80: A circus without clowns

The answers did not sit well with the Nooitgedacht South and Heritage Drive Residents Association (NSHDRA) representative who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of victimisation by the authorities.

The property to which the squatters have been moved is commonly known as Plot 80, but in legal documents is is referred to as Portion 80 of the farm Rietfontein.

The questions the News posed are in bold type, followed by the government entities’ answers. NSHDRA’s comments are in italics.

1. Can Mogale City please provide the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report? Since Plot 80 has become a residential development, the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 prescribes that an EIA always be done before such a development.

– GDRT:

The Town Planner for portion 80 submitted the EIA report to the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD), which is the relevant provincial department. The screening was done by GDARD who also confirmed it’s not a sensitive area and that anything less than five hectares is exempted.

– NSHDRA disputes this answer saying that the property is 28 hectares. The court order was for 4 hectares but already the development has grown to more than 7 hectares and the property has yet to be subdivided. They also claim that the layout of the development as it is now, differs from what was in the court order.

2. It is alleged that the owners of this property have not been compensated yet for the land. Is this true, and if yes then why has people been moved onto it?

GDRT:

– Government does not make upfront payments. Payments are only made after the service has been delivered.

– The representative of NSHDRA wrote in his comment on this answer that “The property has been occupied by GDART, so the service was delivered. Or is there more?”

3. Why has Mogale City not first implemented all the necessary services before moving these people to Plot 80?

MCLM:

-The land parcel is purchased by the GDRT for purposes of resettling the occupants in order to make way for road infrastructure development.

– The NSHDRA representative wrote “MCLM has not answered the question posed by the newspaper. Mogale must apply the ‘Spatial Planning and Land Use Management By-Law of 2018’ or all residents/ landowners must be exempted from this. Then it is free for all. Both the MCLM and Gauteng Provincial Authority have abandoned the rule of law. What is being done on Plot 80 is not what was applied for in the court case. The so-called authorities are doing what they want in opposition to the rule of law.”

4. By definition government has to act in the public interest. How has this relocation been in the interest of those relocated and the neighbouring permanent property owners, since there are no services, nearby employment or suitable schools, and property owners have not been properly consulted?

MCLM:

– This is an incremental development, and most issues will be addressed as development ensues.

– The NSHDRA wrote “The rule of law makes government liable to protect the public interest. That is the duty of the elected. They must also put a time frame for what will be done and define what will be done. They must specify what will not be done since they are saying ‘… most issues will be addressed …’. Again the question was not answered.”

5. Plot 80 lies on a waterway/ river system. This area is also believed to be a ‘granite grassland’ which is an endangered habitat? How can it be okay to allow a settlement there?

GDRT:

– The town planner and GDARD did a screening of the area and they were satisfied. The Green Scorpions also came to investigate and have no objections.

– The NSHDRA demands that a “motivated investigation, proof and authority for the decision” are provided so that “the adjacent landowners can also utilise that binding conclusion or the president set”.

6. Since there are no bulk services there, how is sewage going to affect the groundwater which nearby properties use? Has any testing been done on this matter?

MCLM:

– The issue of bulk infrastructure is being addressed through a Gauteng provincial Human Settlements Department programme known as the Upgrade of Informal Settlements – the bulk services and related issues will be looked at as part of that programme.

– The NSHDRA again said that the question has not been answered and wanted to know what the time frame is. They also wanted to know why developers have to do this upfront via an EIA. “Developers must even pay bulk contributions, even if there are no services to connect with and then still supply infrastructure in their own development. What about washing water waste? Chemical toilets falling over. Toilets not serviced due to lack of funds, industrial action etc?”

7. Who has been auditing whether the settlement is taking place as per the court order?

MCLM:

– Mogale City Human Settlements division is doing the audit.

– NSHDRA again criticised the two entities saying they have not answered the question.

8. There have been reports from residents in the new settlement, as well as other interested parties, that stands are already being sold by, allegedly, Mogale City employees. Will the city be investigating such claims?

MCLM:

– Mogale City has not received such complaints. However, we encourage those with complaints to address them to Speaker of Council or the Municipal Manager so that these allegations can be thoroughly investigated.

– The NSHDRA did not comment on this final answer.

Mogale City Human Settlements Manager Tefo Kelebonye has answered on behalf of MCLM, and Ernest Mashaba, responsible for the Cradlestone interchange, on behalf of the GDRT.

More disturbing questions surrounding both Plot 80 and the planned interchange have surfaced and were passed on to the relevant stakeholders.